100th Blog Post! The Thai Cottage, Henley in Arden 29/10/13


I can't believe I've come to my 100th blog post already, time seems to go so fast! I've loved writing every post so much and I hope you all enjoy reading it!

This blog post is from a restaurant I reviewed not too long ago but we decided to go back as it was so good. The Thai Cottage in Henley is only down the road from me which makes it even better, Jayne, Laura, Sam and I went this particular evening, it was quite busy and we didn't book but luckily we managed to get a table. The menu has so much yummy choice and its so hard to decide what to have! We pretty much all agreed on the same food we had last time, we decided to go for different set meals for two people- Set Menu A and Set Menu B both are £19.95 per person, therefore we had enough food for 4.


The starter is a mixed platter consisting of:
Chicken Satay, Duck Spring Rolls, Prawns Wrapped in Rice Paper & Spare Ribs in a Honey Aromatic Sauce
 
The starter came with three different dipping sauces too, I'm not 100% sure what they are but I think one is hoi sin sauce, one is sweet chilli sauce and I'm not sure about the third. The presentation of the starter and the sauces is so good, they are such vibrant, bright colours and they make it look so pretty with the carrot flower on the side. It is almost too good to eat, I love all the dishes they serve the food on, they make the presentation even more complete. The starter tastes as good as it looks too-the chicken satay on the skewers are very good, they don't taste too much like nuts either which is good and they have a charred, almost BBQ taste to them. The duck spring rolls are delicious, they taste just like crispy duck from the Chinese but inside very thin and crispy spring roll rice paper-the hoi sin sauce goes so well with that part of the starter. The prawns wrapped in rice paper were incredibly good, the prawns were cooked perfectly and the rice paper was crispy enough, these went so well with the sweet chilli sauce and lastly the ribs-oh god these were SO good, they were tender and the meat fell straight from the bone, the sauce they were in was also delicious, a perfect blend of sweet honey and aromatic spices-delcious. I could easily have that starter as my main course-all to myself!

For the main courses we were provided with 4 different dishes that came with rice, noodles and mixed veg but we ordered some coconut rice on the side for an extra £2.50 as Jayne & Sam love it! So we ended up having SO much food!

Sweet & Sour Chicken
 Sirloin Steak with Panang Sauce
 Crispy Duck with Tamarind Sauce
 Thai Green Chicken Curry
 Mixed Stir Fried Vegetables in Oyster Sauce

See, we had SO much food! Way more than we needed but for the price-you definitely get your moneys worth. The presentation of each dish is so good, they look so pretty with the vibrant colours and the pretty dishes. The sweet and sour chicken, was as to be expected to be honest-you can't go too wrong with it but this particular one was very tasty, tangy and sweet with crispy chicken and perfectly cooked vegetables.

The sirloin steak with the panang sauce was one of my favourites-its very different to anything I've had before and its not too spicy but has a slight kick and it has a slightly sweet taste. The steak was cooked perfectly too-very tender and not chewy at all. The sauce is a very yummy blend of coconut milk, spices and herbs-very few ingredients but it really is delicious. A new favourite Thai dish of mine.

The crispy duck with tamarind sauce is my ultimate favourite dish at the Thai Cottage, its SO SO good! The duck is cooked perfectly, with crispy deep fried outer skin, cooked tender and pink on the inside. The tamarind sauce is absolute perfection. A tamarind is a sticky, sour tasting fruit, it tastes slightly like dates but is less sweet. The pulp of the fruit is compressed down to make a paste which then makes the sauce, its actually a key ingredient in Worcestershire sauce and it honestly is so delicious. Perfect dish which I could eat every day!

Now, the last dish-Thai Green Curry, is most peoples favourite dish at a Thai restaurant but I'm one of the odd ones out as I'm not that keen on it, I really dislike a lot of coconut milk in food and as green curry has a lot of coconut milk and lemongrass in it-two flavours which I really dislike. Its a shame because it always looks so good and its an exotic, aromatic curry-the name Thai Green Curry literally means Sweet Green Curry. The girls however said this one tasted delicious and they loved it!

The vegetables were very good, taste as expected and very tasty especially in with the oyster sauce, which is a dark sauce with a sweet, salty and earthy flavour-full of umami! 

Another brilliant meal at the Thai Cottage-I highly recommend it and for £25 each, it isn't too expensive either for the quality, service and taste!

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